In vitro comparison of natural tooth-whitening remedies and professional tooth-whitening systems.

Background: An increasing number of patients are using natural homemade remedies such as strawberries, banana peels, coconut oil rinse, basil, lemon, activated charcoal, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, and turmeric to obtain whiter teeth. However, studies on these natural whitening products are limited. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of different homemade tooth-whitening agents in vitro. Materials and methods: Ninety caries-free extracted anterior and premolar teeth were collected, cleaned, and sectioned at the roots. The teeth were mounted in epoxy resin (buccal surface) and stored in 0.2 % thymol solution, and were treated with one of the following six whitening agents: baking soda, activated charcoal, lemon juice, strawberries, Colgate Optic Whitening toothpaste, and Opalescence 20 % home-bleaching system. The enamel shade in each sample was measured four times using a spectrophotometer. Baseline measurements for ΔE and (L*, a*, b*) were obtained, and the second measurement was obtained after 5 days. The third reading was obtained on the 10th day, and the fourth reading was obtained at the 4th week to measure colour stability. One-way analysis of variance and post-hoc Tukey tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: ΔE measurements showed a significant difference on the 10th day in all groups except the lemon group (P = 0.164), while all groups showed a statistically significant difference at the 4th week. The mean colour change differed remarkably between the first and fourth readings. The highest change was observed in the lemon group (44.0 ± 2.9), closely followed by the Opalescence 20 % and Colgate Optic Whitening toothpaste groups. The lowest change was observed with strawberries (38.2 ± 4.8). ΔE showed a significant difference in all groups except the turmeric group. Conclusion: Statistically significant differences were obtained with baking soda, activated charcoal, strawberries, lemon juice, Colgate Optic Whitening toothpaste, and Opalescence 20%. Further studies are required to evaluate the effects of these agents on surface roughness and colour stability.

Oral-Health-Related Self-Efficacy among the Elderly Population in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Oral health self-efficacy is a fundamental determinant of behavioral changes among elderly patients. Objective: To assess the oral self-efficacy among the Saudi population aged 65 years old and above in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted on elderly individuals in Riyadh. An Arabic version of the Geriatric Self-Efficacy Scale for Oral Health (GSEOH) was administered to all participants. The dependent variables included oral function, oral hygiene habits, and dental visits. For the statistical analysis, two independent sample t-tests and a one-way ANOVA test were used. Significance was judged at a p-value less than 0.05. Results: Of 400 participants recruited, 53% were males. About 58% had retained teeth, and 72% had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. Overall, 31.6%, 34.64%, 22.65%, and 11.14% of the participants rated their oral health as good, fairly good, rather poor, and poor, respectively. Age (p < 0.001), educational level (p < 0.001), and working status (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with GSEOH scores. Other sociodemographic characteristics were not found to affect the GSEOH scores. Conclusions: The overall self-efficacy of oral health among Saudi elderly individuals is fairly good. Age, educational level, and occupational status are the main determinants of oral health self-efficacy scores.

Practice with confidence: Analyzing confidence level of final year dental students from four Saudi dental colleges in Riyadh.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the confidence level of final year dental students in Riyadh. MATERIALS: Cross-sectional study was conducted at four dental colleges in Riyadh (N = 312, 220 and 70,5% responded). Oneway ANOVA and post hoc Tukey-Kramer was used. RESULTS: The greatest self-reported confidence scores were for pit fissure sealent (4.6(0.7)). Whereas, students reported least confidence in conducting surgical extractions (2.7 (1.2)). Females were found more confident in conducting preventive resin restorations, oral hygiene instructions, and rubber dam placement as compared to male who were more confident in surgical extraction, copy dentures, veneer preparation and managing orthodontic emergencies. CONCLUSION: All students were confident in performing essential dental procedures however higher confidence was observed in performing simple procedures compared to more complex ones.

Resin bonded bridges in patients with hypodontia: Clinical performance over a 7 year observation period.

PURPOSE: Resin bonded bridges (RBBs) are considered a conservative option in the management of hypodontia. This study targeted to analyze the survival of resin bonded bridges provided to patients with Hypodontia by staff and students at the Department of Restorative Dentistry, University Dental School and Hospital Cork, Ireland. It was also to determine the factors that may influence the survival of RBBs in patients with hypodontia. METHODS: Forty patients with hypodontia who received 65 RBBs from 2001 to 2007 were identified and contacted to be recruited for this study. Of these, nine were not contactable, and five failed to attend. Accordingly, 26 patients (65%) participated in the study, with a total of 51 RBBs. RESULTS: Of the 51 RBBs evaluated, 44 (86%) were still in situ and functional and 7 (14%) failed. The main reason for failure was repeated debonding. The effect of age, gender, the grade of operator and experience, bridge location, design of the bridge, span length and moisture control during cementation, could not be demonstrated. CONCLUSION: The effect of age, gender, the grade of operator and experience, bridge location, design of the bridge, span length and moister control on RBB survival could not be demonstrated. Majority of patients with hypodontia showed satisfaction with resin bonded bridges. In replacing congenitally missing teeth in patients with hypodontia, resin-bonded bridges would be an acceptable treatment option.

Golden proportion evaluation in maxillary anterior teeth amongst Saudi population in Riyadh.

INTRODUCTION: In achieving pleasing dental aesthetics, the maxillary anterior teeth are essential. Numerous methods are used to measure their dimensions, including the golden proportion between their perceived widths and the width-to-height ratios, referred to as the golden proportion and is considered as a gold standard for esthetic evaluation.The objective of this study was to evaluate the existence of the golden proportion between the width of the maxillary anterior teeth of Saudi males and females. METHODS: This clinical observational study included a total of 61 participants that met the inclusion criteria having 36 females and 25 males, all Saudi nationals, presented to Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), College of dentistry, clinics. Dental casts of the maxillary arches for each participant were made after taking digital impressions in addition to taking photographs. The dimensions and the perceived width of the anterior teeth viewed from the front were measured using a digital caliper. SPSS was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the subject's width-to-height ratios and the golden proportion of 0.80 where (p-value < 0.05). Thus, indicating that no golden ratio was observed except in case of tooth number 12 in male subjects where mean value was (0.83) with a standard deviation of (0.09) and the p-value of (p = 0.144) > 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: From the perceived widths of maxillary anterior teeth, the golden proportion was not found to exist. No gold standard was detected for the width-to-height proportions of maxillary incisors. Therefore, in addition to anterior teeth measurements, specific population characteristics and perception of an agreeable smile should be considered for evaluating esthetics.